Ways to say it
| Italian | IPA |
|---|---|
| doloroso | /do.loˈro.zo/ /do.loˈro.so/ |
| dolorante | /do.loˈran.te/ |
| …fa male | /ˈfa ˈma.le/ (word by word) |
While doloroso means painful or causing pain, it is often used in a more formal or literary sense to describe emotional or intense physical pain. For common physical soreness, you would use dolorante or the everyday phrase …fa male (it hurts). If you are referring to an injured, infected, inflamed or diseased patch of skin, you might instead use nouns like piaga, ferita or ulcera.
Which one should you use?
Dolorante is more common for describing physical soreness, whereas doloroso is more formal or literary and often refers to emotional pain or more intense sensations. For everyday spoken Italian, it is common to use the verb phrase …fa male to express that something is sore, such as saying Mi fanno male i muscoli for 'My muscles are sore'.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The form dolorante is a present participle used as an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes, such as gambe doloranti for 'sore legs'.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of doloroso is /do.loˈro.zo/. It has 4 syllables and the stress is on the 3rd syllable.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often over-rely on doloroso to mean 'sore' in a physical sense. In common speech, using dolorante or the phrase …fa male sounds much more natural for muscle soreness or localized pain.
Did you know?
- The word male used in fa male is the same word used to describe 'evil' or 'wrongdoing'. This links the physical sensation of pain to the broader concept of something being 'bad'.
- When describing a sore muscle from exercise, Italians often use the word indolenzito rather than dolorante to specifically denote that the soreness comes from physical exertion.
- The word doloroso shares the same Latin root, 'dolor', as the English word 'dolorous', which is a formal way to say 'sorrowful' or 'full of pain'.
Examples in context
- Mi sento un po' dolorante.I feel a little sore.This sentence uses dolorante to describe a personal feeling of soreness.Tatoeba #6060436 by Guybrush88, translation #2713651 by CK
- Perché Tom è così dolorante?Why is Tom so sore?This sentence uses dolorante to ask why someone is experiencing soreness.Tatoeba #8017289 by Guybrush88, translation #7866061 by CK
- Sono ancora dolorante.I'm still sore.This sentence uses dolorante to describe a continuing state of soreness.Tatoeba #11874214 by Guybrush88, translation #11873880 by CK
- Mi sento un po' indolenzita dopo quella camminata lunga.I feel a bit sore after that long walk.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Francesco and Martina are discussing a minor injury.
- MartinaFrancesco, il tuo braccio è ancora molto doloroso?Francesco, is your arm still very sore?
- FrancescoSì, è ancora un po' doloroso.Yes, it is still a bit sore.
- MartinaDevi riposare un po' oggi.You should rest a bit today.
- FrancescoHai ragione, Martina, grazie.You are right, Martina, thank you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sore” translations and entries doloroso, dolorante, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (fa, male) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries doloroso, fa, male, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
